Wildlife crime is a €20bn a year illegal business - it is the 4th largest illegal trade in the world

Only drug trafficking, counterfeiting and human trafficking are thought to bring in higher revenues for transnational organized criminal networks.

The effects of doing nothing are irreversible. Many endangered species face imminent extinction, marine habitats and fish stocks are collapsing and natural habitats are being lost forever due to illegal logging.

Almost all states have laws prohibiting wildlife crimes, as well as money laundering, tax evasion and corruption

The vast majority of states are signatories to international treaties on wildlife and related crimes. But all this is, unfortunately, not enough to tackle the problem. Every 15 minutes an elephants is killed, every 8 hours a rhino.